Murray stretches unbeaten record to 20 fights

Whoever designed the poster for Andy Murray's next fight (July 26) in Cork had their confidence rewarded when the Cavan Town fighter impressively despatched tough Briton Jon Baguley at the King's Hall, Belfast, last Friday night. Murray entered the Baguley bout with a 19-fight unbeaten record but the poster for his Cork appearance (distributed early last week) against an as-yet unnamed opponent, had touted the 27-year-old as unbeaten in 20. Luckily, the PR team's faith was rewarded when Murray turned in yet another clinical exhibition in front of a packed house in Belfast, on the undercard to Paul McCloskey's successful EBU Light Welter defence. The English fighter came with a reputation for durability and toughness but was swept aside by the power and aggression of the on-fire Cavan boxer. Murray began confidently with powerful jabs that penetrated Baguley's defence and had him both stunned and disorientated in the opening minute. He switched his attacks to the body and again was hurting his opponent at will and already an early night looked on the cards for Murray. The Englishman began the second in survival mode but had no answer to the relentless and heavy handed attacks from Murray who was switching from head to body for maximum effect. A short right hook to the head stunned Baugley and a sustained body attck saw him wilt against the ropes and bring about referee Paul McCullough's timely intervention. The win gave Murray his 11th inside the distance win and his 8th in his last 10 fights, with trainer Brian McKeown commenting that this statistic "buried the myth that Murray lacked the power to make an impact in the pro game". Murray rolled inside to slot his shots through the guard of tough-guy Baguley, who soaked up plenty of leather from Kevin O'Hara in the Odyssey last November. While he lasted the six-round distance on that occasion he could not reach that landmark this time, wilting from a fervent body assault until ref Paul McCullagh called time at 2.41 of the second stanza. Murray was upbeat post-fight: "I was told before to work on the body, I landed one in the first-round and I've got a durable opponent out of the way. "I stayed tight, he didn't open up too much which allowed me to get close and I'm quite fit and able to throw a lot of punches. Like any young fighter, I like to stay busy and I'm loving every minute of it; the regular fights mean I'm developing into a good pro and working hard in the gym," he commented. "We'll see what happens with John Murray but Andy is ranked highly by the EBU and we just need a bit more seasoning before that fight," added promoter Brian Peters. "Whether it's John Murray or not in the opposite corner, Andy will be fighting for the European title come the end of the year," confirmed Peters. Andrew makes a quick return to the ring next weekend when he is scheduled to box an eight- rounder at the Neptune Stadium in Cork City that features six unbeaten stars of Irish boxing in action against international opposition. There was disappointment for John Joe Nevin in Moscow when he surprisingly exited the European Championships at the quarter final stage going down 7-2 to Khalid Yahfia of England. Nevin had impressed with wins over Armenias Karen Aylazyan Frenchman Nouridine Aitihya and was hotly fancied for a medal. However he met a clever counterpuncher in Yahfia who opened up a six-point lead in the second round that ensured victory given his good movement and tight defence against an opponent not noted for aggression. Nevin's cause was not aided by a thumb in the eye that left him with blurred vision throughout most of the contest.